9.27.2011

bp's science: hummingbird (v.1)

While staying at my dad's house this summer, Oliver and I had a chance to get up close and personal with a hummingbird. This was a rarity indeed! It was awesome to look at and neat to listen to.

And did you know that hummingbirds beat their wings up to 200 beats per second?

They eat about half of their body weight in nectar a day because they burn calories so quickly and are constantly eating. And for protein, they capture insects. At night, they go into a hibernation of sorts, where their heart rate slows and their body temperature goes down. This enables them to save lots of energy. In the morning, it takes them about 20 minutes to fully recover from the hibernation and the first thing they do once they wake up is...eat. How's that for getting the metabolism going?

Hummingbirds are amazing creatures and if you are interested in learning more, their is a great Nature program on hummingbirds that's worth 45 minutes.

3 comments:

Really?! This is news to me and so cool. Maybe I need 20 minutes to fully wake up too (it certainly feels that way sometimes). And I can't believe you were so close to the hummingbird! This bird, I've heard, is a legend.